BARGAINING
UPDATES

December 19, 2025

Key Takeaways

• We presented counterproposals on Seniority, Layoffs, Career Advancement, and Positions

• The administration presented counterproposals on Flexible Work Agreements and Health and Safety

• Additional details on the 2.5% interim raises that we negotiated and the fee structure for access to the new recreation center are provided

On December 18, 2025 we met with the administration for the last bargaining session of the year. We presented counterproposals on Seniority, Layoffs, Career Advancement, and Positions; the administration presented counterproposals on Flexible Work Arrangements and Health and Safety. We engaged in helpful discussions about several issues that we want to address with these proposals. For example, we want to ensure that staff who are laid off have the opportunity to return to employment at Pitt without losing their accrued years of service. 

By now most of you have heard that we were able to negotiate 2.5% raises for bargaining unit staff, with no accompanying increase in healthcare costs. The raises will be retroactive to August 1, 2025, and will appear in our paychecks on Jan. 23 for staff who are paid biweekly, and on Jan. 30 for staff who are paid monthly.

For those who are uncertain about whether an increase in pay effective July 1 would have been worth accepting the administration’s June 2025 offer which included increased insurance costs, we’re providing a comparison. For an employee making $40,000 annually, the 2.5% increase would be $1000. Each month of retroactive pay is $83.33. For a person who has family coverage on the Panther Gold plan, the increased annual employee premium contributions alone would be $456 for the year. And the administration’s changes to health insurance would have also meant a $300 increase in the family deductible, increased copays for office visits, prescriptions, and more. We gave up one month of retroactivity ($83.33 in this example) but saved hundreds!  

• Staff who were on a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP), in a provisional period or on a leave of absence on July 1, 2025 will receive the raise effective on the date they completed the PIP or provisional period or returned from the leave, or August 1, whichever is later.

• To be eligible, you must have been employed by Pitt on July 1, 2025 and on the date we reached the agreement, December 16, 2025.

You may have also heard about the LARGE raises that Pitt’s upper administration received. This feels like a slap in the face after giving us raises that don’t even keep up with inflation. We will take your frustration with us to the bargaining table and will keep fighting for the bigger raises that we need and deserve!

We will also continue to negotiate over fees to access the new recreation center for our new contract, but in order to secure access for bargaining unit staff before our contract is ratified, we agreed to accept the following fee structure during this interim period, beginning on January 5:

• Staff who earn less than $50,000 annually will pay $35 per month

• Staff who earn $50,000 or more annually will pay $45 per month

While this has been a year full of many challenges, we've made some amazing progress in getting to our first contract! Your support and energy has been essential for getting us this far, and we look forward to standing strong and working together as we finish what we started in the new year. We hope that you have a relaxing winter break, and we wish you and your family a happy and safe holiday season.

In solidarity,

Your bargaining committee
Jen Goeckeler-Fried, Chair, Biological Sciences, DSAS
Kearsten Adams, Recording Secretary, Academic Advising, UPG
Shawn Alfonso Wells, Pitt Global Experiences, UCIS
Lydia Chmill, Disability Resources & Services, OTC
Emily Daller, University Child Development Center, OHR
Jay Hornack, Law
Adriana Maguina-Ugarte, Anthropology
Todd Shaffer, Office of Student Life, UPJ
Michelle Utz-Kiley, Epidemiology, SPH
Dan Wyszomierski, UPCI/NSABP
Matt Nader, USW
Nate Kilbert, USW
Don Shaffer, USW
Bernie Hall, District 10 Director, USW